Listen here or subscrib at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, including Youtube, where Closed Captioning is available. Stay updated on episodes via our twitter-page. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can subscribe at thestar.com/subscribingmatters.
Guests: Jacob Lorinc, business reporter
Want a smoothie with a side of outsourcing? That’s what customers are seeing at several Freshii locations in Ontario. Instead of a regular cashier, a virtual customer service agent takes your order before actual staff in the restaurant prepare it. Called Percy, a virtual cashier is based in other countries, like Nicaragua or Pakistan, where they earn much less than Ontario’s minimum wage. This is a new customer-facing approach that could be a disruptive force in this sector in the coming years.
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Matt Hearn and Raju Mudhar.
